There were strong indications that the Governor of Ogun State, Ibikunle Amosun and a former governor of the state, Chief Olusegun Osoba, have begun supremacy battle ahead of the 2019 governorship race in the state.
Our correspondent gathered that the succession game among the members of the All Progressives Congress in the state has polarised the party into factions.
While the governor is alleged to be heading one, Osoba is also believed to be in control of another faction.
A group purportedly loyal to Osoba, led by the Ogun Central Senatorial District Chairman of the APC, Mr. Kunle Adesina, in Abuja on Tuesday, took a protest to the national secretariat.
The group submitted a petition to the National Chairman of the party, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun, accusing Amosun of “impunity and imposition” in the state chapter of the ruling party.
The petition read in part, “The latest flagrant violation of our party’s constitution occurred during the recent congress held on Saturday, July 29, 2017 across the LGAs and LCDAs of the state.
“In all material particulars, the congresses did not follow the constitution of the party and guidelines of conducting such a crucial exercise.
“We got to know of the holding of these congresses on the state television, OGTV, only few hours before the event. Even at that, all our members perceived to be out of tune with the governor’s succession game plan who showed up at the venues of the event were turned back forcefully.”
Adesina, who later addressed journalists shortly after the over two hours meeting with Odigie-Oyegun, called for the cancellation of the congresses which he described as “kangaroo.”
He said, “The exercises carried out were a sham as they were in utter contravention of our party’s constitution. We therefore, call on the chairman and all other members of the National Working Committee to bring to play your purposeful and directional leadership in ensuring that justice is not only done but is seen to be done.”
Meanwhile, the party says it has no special interest among the 12 aspirants that have shown interest in flying its flag in the forthcoming governorship election in Anambra State.
The primary election is slated for Saturday, August 26 in Awka, the state capital.
The National Organising Secretary of the party, Senator Osita Izunazo, stated this in Abuja during the inauguration of the party’s governorship primary election committee in the state.
Izunazo said that the party did not zone the governorship ticket to any senatorial district in the state, adding that any information contrary to this should be disregarded.
“We are having slightly above 4,500 delegates from the 21 Local Government Areas of the state and 326 electoral wards, 12 delegates per wards and 26 delegates per LGA and statutory delegates from the state to the national level,” he added.
Responding, the Governor of Borno State, who is also the Chairman of the Primary Committee, Alhaji Kashim Shettima, assured the leadership of the party that his panel would “strictly abide by the instructions given to us by the party.”
He added, “The roadmap is very clear, there is a modus operandi for accreditation and of course it is not rocket science, the list of the accredited delegates had been given to us and we shall abide by all the norms and values laid down by the party.”
While thanking the party’s leadership for the confidence reposed in his committee, Shettima said that Anambra State remained a major rallying point in the country´s political calculation.